7 JUNE

Gen. Artemio Ricarte y Garcia, a.k.a "Vibora"

1904 - Gen. Artemio Ricarte y Garcia, the Filipino military official of the so-called First Philippine Republic who never swore allegiance to the imperialist United States of America, is confined at Bilibid Prison in Manila following his treacherous arrest while trying to drum up renewed support against the American invaders during the bloody and protracted Philippine-American War (1899-1914); also known as "Vibora" (viper), his Katipunan codename, Ricarte was earlier exiled to Guam, along with  Apolinario Mabini and other Filipino leaders, and later still, after adamantly refusing to swear allegiance to the Bald Eagle flag, to Hong Kong, but secretly returned to the the country to reunite with former members of the Philippine Army to try to rekindle the Philippine Revolution, this time against the invading enemy Bald Eagle forces; a reluctant officer of Emilio F. Aguinaldo's "Philippine Republic" who spoke of the fraudulent conduct of the Tejeros Convention that 'elected' Aguinaldo "President" and deposed Katipunan Supremo Andres Bonifacio y de Castro, Ricarte will be thought of in history as the only Himagsikan general who never compromised the spirit of the 1896 Revolution; while in Japan, Ricarte will 'lead' from a distance the popular and radical "Ricartista movement" in Luzon and Visayas; while the promised arms from Japan will never come such that the new independentist uprising will not take off, the Ricarte movement will be a considerable potential force such that by 1914, it will be believed to count over 50,000 members, 60 percent of whom will be actively taking part in patriotic societies and undergoing military training in Manila. 


Raw photo credit: http://webzoom.freewebs.com/philippineamericanwar/Artemio%20Ricarte%20with%20%20sombrero.jpg